She Was Never Just the Wife novel Chapter 40

Chapter 40

Chapter 40

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Beckham watched Celia’s silhouette fade into the distance, then turned around. The study door burst open with a thunderous bang, slamming into the wall so hard the frame seemed to tremble.

Tanner looked up from his mountain of paperwork, his brows knitting together as he took in the sight of his son in the doorway, chest heaving, eyes blazing red.

He didn’t speak right away; instead, he removed his reading glasses and slowly polished the lenses with a cloth, his gaze calm and unruffled.

“What is it?” Tanner’s voice was steady, betraying no emotion, but it carried the authority of someone long accustomed to command.

Beckham stood in the doorway, refusing to step in or retreat. He locked eyes with his father, his lips pressed into a bloodless line, jaw so tense the muscles stood out.

He had nowhere to put his rage. He was humiliated. And underneath it all was something darker, something he couldn’t even figure out. A dull, aching pain.

All of it came out as a silent accusation aimed at the one person who had always pulled the strings. His father. His father’s composure only made him feel more like a petulant fool throwing a fit.

Silence stretched between them; the air seemed frozen. The only sound was the steady ticking of the antique clock in the study, each tick striking at their nerves.

Suddenly, memories from a few days ago crashed into Beckham’s mind. He was back in this same study, staring down his father all over again.

*****

A few days ago, in the evening, Tanner sat behind his massive mahogany desk and slid a document across to Beckham, who had walked in. “Sign it,” Tanner said.

Beckham glanced at the title, Divorce Agreement. His heart sank, but he forced a mocking smile. “What’s this now, Dad? Another one of your little performances?”

“It’s a divorce agreement. Don’t you recognize it?” Tanner’s voice was cold. “I had my lawyer draft it. The terms are fair. Sign it, and that’s final.”

“I’m not signing,” Beckham shot back without hesitation, his tone steely. “I haven’t decided yet.”

“You haven’t decided?” Tanner looked up, his gaze sharp as a blade. “What about when Laylah came back with that kid and the whole city was gossiping about it? Every headline was screaming about the Lucero heir’s secret love child.

“The ballerina returning with a son. The wealthy family on the brink of collapse. Those old men on the board kept calling me, asking if you had lost your mind.

“Throwing away the company’s reputation and stock price for some woman nobody really knows and a kid

19:30 Mon, May 11 d

Chapter 40

with no clear background. Did you ever stop to think about any of that?”

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Beckham’s face went pale under Tanner’s barrage of questions, but he stubbornly shot back, “Laylah’s the one raising that kid. It’s tough for her to do it all alone. The media twists everything.”

“Do you know if that kid is yours?” Tanner scoffed, disappointment clear in his eyes. “Even if he is, are you planning to push Celia out and let Laylah take her place?

“Beckham, so long as I’m alive, a manipulative woman like Laylah will never be allowed into the Lucero family.”

“Dad, why are you so biased against Laylah? She’s gentle and kind, raising that kid all by herself. She’s way better than Celia, who’s cold and emotionless.”

“Cold and emotionless?” Tanner let out a dry laugh, like he’d heard the funniest joke. He stood desk, and stopped right in front of Beckham, his eyes heavy with disappointment.

up, circled the

“So for three years, Celia was some emotionless block to you? Did you ever notice what she’s done for you, this family? When your Grandpa was sick, who stayed by his bedside, barely sleeping?

“When my stomach problems flared up, who ran all over town looking for doctors and medicine for me? When the company hit that supply chain crisis two years ago, who quietly called in favors from her grandfather’s old connections to bail you out?

“And when you were out partying and messing around with those random women, did she ever say a word? Did she ever make a scene?”

for

Beckham was completely lost for words. All those little things he’d never cared about were now thrown right in his face by his dad, no holding back.

“She’s not some emotionless robot. She puts the bigger picture first, so you wouldn’t lose face.” Tanner’s voice was tight with anger; he could barely hold back.

“But you? How have you treated her? Giving her the cold shoulder, ignoring her, parading other women around town, and now you’ve got a secret kid out there. Beckham, you can’t be this selfish.”

Beckham tried to protest, but the words stuck in his throat. Everything his father said. He couldn’t deny it, no matter how much he wanted to.

“This marriage ends here,” Tanner declared, his voice sharp and final. “It doesn’t matter what you want. Sign the papers and leave. I have no interest in watching you pretend to be some devoted husband.”

He pointed at the divorce agreement. “You claimed we forced you into this marriage. Fine. But for three years, you had every chance to resist, to treat her better, or to ask for a divorce yourself.

“Did you? No. You took all the stability and convenience this marriage gave you and handed nothing but indifference and hurt to Celia.

“Now that Laylah’s back, you think you’ve found true love and want to toss Celia aside? It’s not that easy. You will sign these papers today.”

19:30 Mon, May 11 ….

Chapter 40

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Tanner’s words cut through Beckham’s heart like a sharp rebuke, exposing the selfishness and cowardice he had long refused to acknowledge. He opened his mouth, desperate to defend himself, but nothing came out.

With Tanner’s powerful, disappointed gaze bearing down on him, Beckham felt frozen to the core, overwhelmed by a storm of anger, shame, and utter powerlessness.

He snatched up the pen from the desk, signing his name on the divorce agreement with an almost savage, self-destructive force. The pen tore into the paper, leaving a dark, heavy stroke.

Then, he tossed the pen away, turned, and charged out of the study without a backward glance.

Another heavy slam echoed as the door crashed shut.

*****

Beckham was still standing in the doorway, almost overlapping with the memory of himself storming out days ago. Back then, it was all rage and humiliation. Now, beneath the anger, there was only emptiness and confusion gnawing at him.

Celia’s cold words and her determined walk away, plus his father’s calm and distant attitude, stabbed at the softest, most fragile part of his heart.

Tanner finished wiping his glasses, slipped them back on, and focused on his paperwork, acting like Beckham wasn’t there. He grabbed his pen and signed a report, the scratch of the nib against the paper sounding extra loud in the silence.

Being ignored like this was more suffocating and humiliating than any harsh words could ever be.

He thought, ‘Why was he always so protective of Celia? Why did he insist on forcing this divorce? Why had my wishes never counted for anything, not once, all the way from childhood?’

But as he caught sight of his father’s graying hair and the focused, unyielding profile bent over his work, all those heated words jammed in his throat.

Suddenly, it hit him. No matter what he said, in his father’s eyes, he’d always be an immature kid throwing a pointless fit.

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